1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic program guide (EPG), and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for providing an EPG to a user terminal, and a terminal and method for displaying the EPG.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic program guide (EPG) is one of services helpful to a digital broadcast user. The EPG is provided according to the MPEG-2 standard using a digital broadcast transmission format. The EPG is transmitted to a private section, as defined in each transmission medium.
Each set top box is capable of making a schedule of programs to be broadcast for a predetermined period from now, using the EPG. For instance, the set top box creates a schedule of programs to be broadcast for seven days from now via all channels or a channel through which a user is now viewing a program.
Using the EPG, the set top box provides a function of reserving a program to be viewed, and a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) provides a function of reserving a program to be recorded.
When receiving a request for the EPG from a viewer during broadcasting of a TV program, a conventional EPG providing apparatus stops displaying the TV program which is currently being broadcast. The conventional EPG providing apparatus displays the EPG in a full screen mode.
When receiving a request for the EPG from a viewer during broadcasting of a TV program, another conventional EPG providing apparatus displays the TV program, which is currently being broadcast in a full screen mode, on a part of a screen, and yet another conventional apparatus displays the EPG on a part of the screen.
Accordingly, the other viewers who are also watching the TV program would feel inconvenience. Also, displaying of both a broadcast and the EPG on a screen would cause a picture of the broadcast to be distorted.
To solve these problems, Korean patent laid-open publication No. 2001-0029050 discloses a method of exchanging data between a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a digital television (TV), using Jini which is a Java application program. In particular, this method allows a user to view digital information provided by the digital TV, using the PDA. However, this method is disadvantageous in that a Java virtual machine must be installed into both the digital TV and the PDA, and a terminal capable of exchanging data with the digital TV is limited to the PDA.
In the meantime, a conventional EPG providing apparatus is limited to providing service information that a broadcasting station inserts into a broadcast to be transmitted. Korean patent laid-open publication No. 2002-0061126 discloses a technique of allowing favorite channels, which are frequently selected in a digital broadcast receiver, to be automatically selected, categorized, and displayed in an EPG. Here, the digital broadcast receiver may be a digital TV capable of receiving digital data via a multi-channel.
However, the favorite channels are channels that are frequently viewed by a plurality of users, not a user, and the range of user preference is broad since it is determined by detecting favorite channels, not favorite programs. Thus, the EPG does not appropriately show user preference.
Also, this technique simply displays the favorite channels to be differentiated from the other channels, and does not permit the EPG to be remade according to the favorite channels.
Korean patent laid-open publication No. 2004-0010963 suggests changing a current channel to a channel which broadcasts a favorite program. In this method, a broadcasting station determines the category of each program, inserts information regarding the determined category into the corresponding program, and transmits the program to a receiver.
The receiver extracts the category information from the received program, and compares the extracted category information with category information of a favorite program which has been determined by a user. When the comparison reveals that the extracted category information is the same as the predetermined category information, a current channel is automatically changed to a channel which broadcasts a favorite program after the user completes viewing a current broadcast.
However, this method is based on user preference which has been predetermined by a user, not being obtained by substantially selecting a broadcast. Also, unless a user does not disable a function of automatically changing favorite broadcasts, the favorite broadcasts are automatically changed even when the user does not desire to change the favorite broadcasts. In this case, when the number of users is more than one, whether the function is to be disabled must be determined every time when users are changed.